How I got my agent, part two

By getting personal responses to my queries, I felt I was always pointed in the right direction and encouraged to keep going but in different ways. I will always be grateful to the agents who took the time to let me know what I was doing right, and what I could do better. And most of all, I’m grateful for the personalized words of encouragement to keep going. Often, it’s what motivated me to keep writing.

One day in May 2022, I had just finished sending out queries for a new project and decided to take a well-earned break. So, I turned on my PS3. In the middle of my character riding across some monster-infested field, I decided to check my email on my phone.

The inbox had a message from Stockholm’s cinema reminding me I had a free ticket, some Writer Digest articles, and an email from grandpa. So, I moved on to check my junk folder (please, always check your junk folder). Then, amidst commercials and a promised discount on protein powder, there was an email from James Mustelier of the Bent Agency, one of the agents who had asked for a full from one of my projects.

I don’t think I need to say that my game was abandoned as I hurried to my computer. I moved the email to the inbox as if the email functions would blast the trashcan into smithereens before my eyes. But I managed to move James’s email without a mishap, opened it, and re-read it a few times. But there it was, James, asking to set up a call.

We agreed on a date, and I printed it into my calendar with capital letters underlined black and framed pink. A few days never felt so long. But then, I had jitters crowding my gut, nerves pinging off one another, and two sisters who told me just to be myself. I don’t think even my favorite dessert could’ve calmed me down back then. So, the anxiety followed me to the marked date.

But the conversation went smoothly, and it was clear from the start that James and I had the same vision for my book. What’s better was that his suggestions improved the book in ways I hadn’t thought about. Since I had already prepared the questions and felt I had control over both nerves and brain and could process any questions, James and I ticked them off one by one. Finally, I asked for the author-agent agreement and a week to get back to the agents who had my material.

In the end, it wasn’t a difficult choice.

The agency and James were a perfect fit for what I wanted. For me, my agent needed to represent both science fiction and fantasy since I write both. A big plus was also that James was focused on the editorial side, something I value since learning how to be a better writer is something I have strived for since I sent out that first book at the age of sixteen.